Falling in love with Matilda, the tabby cat with alien eyes

Few things are as immediately endearing as a cat with big eyes. But for Matilda, her giant eyes are special even by the already high eye standards of cats. The two-year-old tabby cat has eyes that look more like something from outer space than your average feline. The look is due to a rare condition that she and her siblings have. The result is huge, glassy, totally transfixing eyes.

Matilda was adopted at only 12 weeks old, and at that time her eyes were normal. But shortly thereafter her humans noticed that the pupil of her right eye was growing. After talking to the families of Matilda’s siblings, they learned their kitten was suffering spontaneous lens luxation, which causes the lens to detach from the rest of the eye. Although it was gradual, after a while it impacted both of the cat’s eyes.

Her humans told People, “In her litter of six kittens, three others were affected. Two of them had the lenses removed but recovering from the surgery was very difficult. The specialist believes that their disorder could also involve a collagen deficiency, which makes healing from injury or surgery very hard for them.”

As a result, Matilda can’t see.

“Unfortunately for Matilda, her lenses have rested in such a way that they have caused the eyes to become enlarged and the problem continues to progress,” her humans explained of the condition. “She is developing glaucoma and will inevitably have to have surgery despite the difficult healing process.”

But that doesn’t get her down. She behaves just like any other cat, playing and hanging out with her people.

“She also loves tissue paper, cardboard boxes, and her scratching post. She likes to make the dog uncomfortable by walking too close to his face,” her owner shared with People. “She loves to eat and will cry like the world is ending if her dish isn’t full.”

Matilda’s humans have set up a crowdfunding campaign via GoFundMe to help cover the cost of her eventual surgery, and plan to donate any extra money to charity. They also set up an Instagram, where fans can follow the every day adventures of Matilda and spread a really positive message of acceptance — no matter what you look like. With over 41 thousands followers, it’s safe to say this out-of-this-world cat is a hit with the humans of Earth!

If you are interested in donating to Matilda’s care you can find out more at her GoFundMe page. 

(Images via)